Tiger cub skin confiscated in Primorye

17.11.2002

A tiger skin was confiscated on November 28, 2002 in a remote village of Primorye, Russian Far East. Two public inspection teams of Phoenix joined forces with the local police department investigating organized crime and made a raid to check on information about a tiger skin in northern Primorye.

A quick investigation of the joint team led to Vostretsovo village where a former director of a fur -animal breeding farm was offering a tiger cub skin for $1,200.

To discover the skin, one of the public inspectors posed as a buyer and the police gave him hidden microphones. They prepared fake money and after four hours of negotiation the illegal owner agreed to reveal the precious hide. At that moment the police officers broke into the house and confiscated the tiger skin. The seller will be fined.

The skin was 1.2 m long, well -tanned and the cub was probably killed in summer. According to the “seller”, he found the cub frozen in the forest in winter and decided to sell its skin in order to improve his poor financial situation. As there were no bullet holes in the skin, officers believe that the cub may have been caught in a snare.

The inspectors think this is not the last tiger skin that will be confiscated in the district. Intelligence indicates three tiger skins have already been sold but there are about four unsold skins still in the area.

The anti-poaching activities of the public investigation teams are being supported by the Phoenix Fund, Save the Tiger Fund, 21st Century Tiger, WildAid, and David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.